Christian Horner explains why Red Bull didn’t sign Carlos Sainz for 2025

Red Bull team director, Christian Horner, revealed why Carlos Sainz was not considered as a candidate to form a duo with Max Verstappen in 2025.

Red Bull announced that they have ended Sergio Perez’s contract two years early after a difficult 2024 season for the Mexican driver. Liam Lawson will become the teammate of the four-time world champion next season.

Carlos Sainz, who was available as a free agent earlier this year after the surprise departure of Lewis Hamilton from Mercedes to Ferrari, was not signed by Red Bull. Carlos Sainz has since joined Williams.

The four-time Grand Prix winner, who made his F1 debut alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso in 2015, never had the opportunity to race for the main Red Bull team and eventually left the group.

A missed opportunity?

Asked by Sky Sports after the announcement of Sergio Perez’s departure, the Red Bull boss explained the decision not to sign Carlos Sainz: « I think Carlos is an excellent driver, and that has been evident at times this year. »

« But we must evaluate all the criteria and dynamics. At the time when we extended Checo’s contract, he was second in the world championship and had finished on the podium in four of the first five races. At the time of signing [the contract], he had secured four podiums in five races. It therefore seemed like a logical extension to eliminate any speculation, which was already too present around the team », he explains.

Past tensions between Verstappen and Sainz

Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz allegedly had a tense relationship when they were teammates at Toro Rosso. Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, stated earlier this year to the Spanish newspaper, Marca, that the atmosphere between the two was quite toxic.

« Sainz is, without a doubt, an excellent driver. He was almost at Max’s level at Toro Rosso. The problem for him is that he had the misfortune of having Verstappen as a teammate », explained Marko.

« With the setup we had at the time, I didn’t see a way to keep him with us. Carlos went through Renault, McLaren, and eventually ended up at Ferrari. »

Sky Sports F1 analyst, Karun Chandhok, criticized Red Bull’s decision, stating that the Spaniard was an obvious choice: « I don’t understand why Red Bull didn’t sign Sainz. This story of ‘Max doesn’t want him’ or tense relations between the fathers has been going on for a decade now. Max is now a four-time world champion. At the end of the day, they lost the constructors’ championship because the second car didn’t score as many points as the second Ferrari or the second McLaren on certain weekends. For me, Carlos was the obvious candidate. »